George Calombaris

MAMA BABA OPENS 20 JAN 2012

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:36:00 GMT

My latest restaurant Mama Baba is particularly special to me, as it's a celebration of my Greek and Italian heritage.

Mama Baba is all about the pasta - the restaurant has lots of raw character, it's going to be noisy, a DJ will be mixing tunes near the bar, there's lots of exposed walls...so the elegance of the venue is the pasta. This menu is inspired by pasta dishes that my Mama (grandma) and Baba (grandfather) used to make.

When you walk into Mama Baba the first thing you see is this incredible glass pasta room where we store all of the fresh pasta. If you want to see a bit more, click on the link below and come on a walk through with Mama Baba with me.

Mama Baba opens for dining from 20 January 2012, however we are already taking bookings, so call or email us today to be one of the first to decide whether you're a Mama or Baba kind of pasta person!

MAMA BABA WALK THROUGH PART 1
MAMA BABA WALK THROUGH PART 2

Mama Baba
21 Daly St
South Yarra
P: 03 9207 7421
E: admin@mamababa.com.au
W: www.mamababa.com.au

JAPAN FUNDRAISING BENEFIT AT P M 24

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:33:00 GMT

Last night Philippe Mouchel, our partner at P M 24, and I hosted a fundraising benefit at P M 24 to raise funds for the Red Cross Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal, and we were lost for words at the generous support that came from our guests and sponsors.

The stand out item from the live auction conducted by Simon Shrimpton of Jellis Craig was the dinner for ten hosted by Philippe Mouchel, George Calombaris, Shane Delia, Joe Grbac, Vasilios Donoudis, and Travis McAuley which sold twice over, raising $28,500.

The other live auction items were:
- A behind the scenes tour of the Melbourne Zoo, including the chance to wash Bong Su the Elephant; donated by Zoo’s Victoria;
- Five nights accommodation in Marlborough NZ, donated by Carol Rothschild; and
- Four laps in either a Ferrari 458 Italia or Lamborghini LP640 Murceilgo with John Bowe, donated by John Bowe and Joe Calleja.

In the end we raised a total of $55,110, which is incredible!

We couldn't have done this without the support from our chefs, front of house staff and all the sponsors who came on board to donate food and beverages and auction items.

All in all it was a great night!

CHATEAU MUSAR WINE DINNER AT MAHA

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:55:00 GMT

'Created in 1930 in the cellar of an old 17th century castle, Chateau Musar is as much the work of a family as the living testimony of all the civilisations that have tread its soil.

After a long stay in France, Gaston Hochar returned to Lebanon and created Chateau Musar in the cellars of the old 'Mzar' castle in Ghazir, overlooking the Mediterranean sea.'

In July, Maha and Shane Delia will be hosting Ralph Hochar of Chateau Musar at an exclusive wine dinner.

Guests will indulge in a six course menu, with 11 accompanying wines from the Chateau Musar vineyard, spanning from the 1980's through to the 2010 vintage. The menu will be designed by Shane Delia to match the wines served on the night, some of which have never been in Australia.

Date: 5 July 2011
Time: 7pm - 11pm
Cost: $195
Location: Maha, 21 Bond St Melbourne.

To attend this exclusive event, and experience the highest quality wine to ever come out of Lebanon, call P: 9629 5900 or complete the online booking form.

WE'RE OFF TO GREECE

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:24:00 GMT

After two months of planning, Travis McAuley, my head chef at Hellenic Republic and I have left for Greece, to spend a week and a half exploring, discovering and coming up with great ideas that we can use in our restaurants in Melbourne!

Trav is writing a daily blog that he's posting on the Hellenic Republic website, so make sure you check it out!

There's so much incredible produce and great restaurants in Greece, and we're going to be spending our time getting into everything. Finding the great butchers and delis where the restaurants and locals get their food from, and going to different places to see how the food and flavours change.

It's our first trip away doing something like this, and we're really excited!!

MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA SEASON 3

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:56:00 GMT

Masterchef Australia Season three starts on Sunday 1 May on Channel Ten.

The show is getting better every season. This time it's all about the ingredients - we've got a bunch of great cooks on the show. They know all their basics, and how to combine things to make great dishes.

I'm really excited about season three, and I think you're going to love it!

Make sure you tune in!

VITTORIA CHARITY CUP

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:11:00 GMT

On Sunday 17th October thirteen of Melbourne's best restaurants took the time out to turn to the pitch for the Vittoria Charity Cup at Olympic Park, Melbourne.

The players came together for a lesson of the rules from the Victoria Police Soccer Club referees who donated their time on the day and then we all moved to the pitch for a group photograph.

The rivalry had started!

The Press Club team, including players from The Press Club, Hellenic Republic and Maha, lost our first match but we came back to win our second match against Le Chien. We were feeling good.

Onto our third match, we knew we had to work hard against Sette Bello and unfortunately it was again a loss, but finally we made victory in our final match against Le Petit Gataeu. This match saw us win with many goals on the board, sending us into the finals!

The cheer squad was armed and ready to cheer in our first final against Coda. It was a close match but we got there in the end. I re-grouped the team for the final, and we went in with a plan. The competition went to full pitch so we had to put the toughest players in! A nail bitting finish, but we managed to win 1-0.

We couldn't have asked for the day to run better (except for perhaps a little more sunshine).

We really appreciate how everyone gave it their all on the field and in the stalls. I'm happy to announce that all the generous donations from Teams, Sponsors and the general public has raised approx $65,000 for the Starlight Children's Foundation! This money will go directly toward helping Starlight to brighten the lives of seriously ill children through our programs including Wish Granting, Escapes for families and of course Captain Starlight fun in the hospital right when kids need it.

We can't wait for next year!

CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OF!

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:14:00 GMT

I just got back from an eating extravaganza in New York! Wow...what a city! If you have never been and you love food (oh and shopping), it's a must.

Although it's buzzing with people, there is something still quite homely about New York; a cultural melting pot not dissimilar to Melbourne. I think the whole grid-system made me feel even more at home.

New York has so many restaurants and I had so little time. Almost every friend that has been to New York gave me their eat-lists. So what do I do? Try and get to all of them. It's the only way to experience this amazing city. My suggestion is a little afternoon nap between dining experiences...especially after day 3 of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Somehow MasterChef tasting seemed like a small snack!

Here is my quick run down of what moved my culinary heart in New York City...

Best Meal - Per Se. Thomas Kellar's 3 Star Michelin Restaurant. I was in heaven. Yum Yum Yum! Brilliant.
Best Steak - Standard Bar and Grill. This is a very cool restaurant, cool people and all that. Get beneath the hoo-haa and you will really enjoy it.
Best Burger - The Spotted Pig. Comes with an abundance of Roquefort Cheese and homemade shoe string fries.
Best Restaurant Experience - La Esquina. What real Mexican food is all about.
Best Pasta - Marea. Recommended to me by Thomas Kellar (his favourite restaurant) it was a brilliant restaurant.
Best 'New Place to Visit' - Eataly. I think I went there about 6 times! Amazing place with everything 'Italian' that you can possibly think of, including the best coffee in town (not hard given that Starbucks is USA's answer to a 'good' coffee!)
Best New Up and Coming Restaurant - Recette. This restaurant has been open for a short time. The chef is doing some really interesting and delicious food.
Best Quick Bite - Lupa. One of Mario Batali's many New York restaurants. The pasta is really good!
Best Japanese - Morimoto. Very New York. The food lives up to the decor - fresh and clean.
Best Hot Dog - Yankee Stadium. There is nothing like going to see the New York Yankee's whilst devouring a HD. Only in America!
Cool Bar - Standard Hotel Level 19. Take your big sunnies and your bikini's!

And this is a shortened version of my journey. So now that I have shared some of my favourites, I want to hear what your favourites are.

CAN KIDS COOK?

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:28:00 GMT

You bet they can!

We have just started the filming Junior MasterChef and they are amazing. I realised again how important it is for children to grow up in an environment that embraces positive food experiences. I was lucky as a child to have exactly this upbringing.

We used food as an enjoyable part of being a family. I was always allowed to help mum in the kitchen and for those times I am so grateful as I wouldn't have developed my creativity and my love for food. There is nothing more exciting than seeing my nieces and nephews having a shot in the kitchen. So my advice if you have kids....involve them and they too can make the cut one day to be on Junior MasterChef or even MasterChef!!!!!!!!